Weeks 1 & 2:
1- Read about Copley here.
2- Add Copley to your timeline, locate his birth place and main residence as an adult on a map.
3- Create a notebook page with biography information on Copley. Get the notebooking page here.

Friday, July 10, 2015

If you follow us on our Facebook page, then you already know that we sold most of the farm just before Thanksgiving last year. My health continued to decline after the issues last February and sadly it became too much for me to keep up with.

The blessing of it all is that we were able to find a home very close to family, that cut my husband's commute by over an hour, and allowed us to continue showing and breeding our beloved rabbits. The Egg Basket has become Four Corners Rabbitry and we are enjoying the new journey immensely. Without the farm to care for, we have been able to travel to shows for the past couple of months, I can focus my energy on my family and home and we are finding the rabbits to be a great joy and full family hobby (yes, even my dear husband has a few!)
I've been missing in my blogging because we have had so much going on- all good but I did want to get back to it. The rabbitry has been more challenged than I ever anticipated- in a great way! There has been so much more to learn in husbandry, genetics, showing- the rabbit shows are miles different from the poultry shows we use to attend. It's hustle and bustle and fun competition in a much faster pace!

I wanted to go over our process in weaning kits today, handling their weaning properly is so important for their overall health and even future potential. There's an old saying that, "A show winner starts in the nestbox!"

I'll discuss pregnancy and nestboxes in another post, today I wanted to start with what happens once the babies ar active and moving around and how to gently wean them. The gentler you handle weaning, the less stress on them and the less chance of dealing with weaning enteritis. Nestbox removal- We remove the nestbox as soon as we see the first kit "escape" out into the cage. Once they can hop out on their own, it's time to rid the cage of the nestbox. Whether they make it out or not, we generally remove it by day 18 -21 to prevent nestbox eye and other unsanitary things we want to avoid. It's healthier for the kits to remove it as soon as it's safe for them. Some breeders prefer to leave the nestbox at first and simply turn it on it's side. We have friends that have had does jump off of the top and land on kits this way so we choose to just remove it. We do fill a cardboard box (old oatmeal box, coke box, etc.) with hay so the kits have a hideaway spot to make them more comfortable. The first day or two they will run into this often but they become brave quickly. Their feet are tiny and they will have to learn to walk on the wire. All of our rabbits have wooden resting pads in their cages and we make certain to add another small one or swap out for a larger one for the does that have kits coming out of the box.

Continue handling your kits daily and be sure to check their bottoms to ensure they're clean and free of any build up of feces or issues.

Weaning from Mom- We remove the dam from the cage instead of removing the kits. This makes it much less stressful for the kits by allowing them to stay in a known environment. If it is a very large litter and necessary to help mom dry up her milk, you can leave the smallest 1-2 kits with Mom. Since we try not to wean the kits until at least 6-7 weeks of age, this isn't normally needed here. However, if you do need to do this, remove those 1-2 kits from the dam and return them to their littermates in 1-2 days.

Once removed from mom we leave them together for 2-4 days and make no other changes other than flushing them with lots of hay. Anytime a rabbit is stressed, we've found it helpful to provide them with free choice hay to prevent any enteritis from stress.

Tatooing- When we wean the kits from Mom is about the time we also tattoo the kits. Usually around 7-9 weeks old. I tattoo all kits that we're keeping in their left to identify them and enter their official name and ear number into our rabbitry software. If the rabbits are culls (in our case being sold as pets) then we either do not tattoo them or tattoo them in their right ear. This prevents them from being shown and hopefully bred as I don't sell our pets with pedigrees. More later on my reasoning for this.

Weaning from Littermates- If your rabbits are sold, the kits need to be move to their own cage (without their littermates) for a minimum of 2-4 days before sending them off to their new home. We give them at least a week. There's a lot of stress in being moved from their littermates and then more stress in moving to an entirely new home. We wait so as not to overload them. We want our kits to be healthy and happy in their new home so we try to do everything we can to help achieve that.

For the kits remaining at the rabbitry, we give them another week as well before separating them, if the mom weaned them on the younger side, we may not separate them by gender for another week. If they're closer to the preferred/older age, we separate them into their own cage at this point. I try to rearrange the cages so that they can see a sibling. The general rule of thumb is that by 9-11 weeks old, each kit should have its own cage. This can be particularly important with lionheads as they may begin to chew on their mates' manes.

Most of our kits still get to play together during "free play time" if I'm around to watch them. They seem to enjoy playing with kits in similar age and as long as they're getting along and playing nicely we try to do this for a few weeks until they're of breeding age.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

If you follow us on our Facebook page, then you already know that we sold most of the farm just before Thanksgiving last year. My health continued to decline after the issues last February and sadly it became too much for me to keep up with.

You may have even noticed that thankfully, after a long transition with Facebook, our page has now officially become Four Corners Rabbitry. It's finally consistent with the changes we've made to our show and breeding focus, website, and this blog. All of my old articles and information is still here, I left it for future use and because- hey- I worked hard on it and I'm sure it's information is still valuable to other homesteaders. Gardening, baking, homeschooling, and other homesteading will still be a part of our lives (and my blogging) but in a suburban setting and a larger shift comes in our breeding and showing switching to our rabbits.

The Egg Basket has become a small family rabbitry, Four Corners Rabbitry and we are enjoying the new journey immensely. Four Corners Rabbitry for the four corners our yard now has and the children and I being the four corners of it. We are specializing in our lionheads still and have also added Holland Lops. Our lionhead program has improved by leaps and bounds!
The blessing of it all is that we were able to find a home very close to family, one that cut my husband's commute by over an hour, positioned me much closer to my cardiolgist and pulmonologist, closer to my son's classes, and allowed us to continue showing and breeding our beloved rabbits.

Without the farm to care for, we have been able to travel to shows for the past couple of months, I can focus my energy on my family and home and we are finding the rabbits to be a great joy and full family hobby (yes, even my dear husband has a few!) We are happy and the rabbitry is already successful I'm happy to report. I'm going to be posting our most recent three shows and the outstanding wins the kids have had at them in the next day or two. In the meantime, if you're curious, you can view our beautiful herd on our new website. Check out the Nursery page for the newest little kits- if you think baby chicks are adorable, wait until you see the rabbit babies!

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

It's that time of year again! Show season is upon us and we're getting started in the right direction with our first Poultry Show of the season. The kids participate most years in the local, Hartwood Days Festival's Youth Poultry Show. This year's show was even more fun since many of the kids' friends participated with thier birds. There are always other animals at the show and since we were picking up four NEW Lionhead Rabbits at the show, we went ahead and entered those as well!

It was a tough decision on who to take this time, as you've read in our post on deciding who to take to a show, you always want to take the bird that is the best representation of the APA and ABA Standards of Perfection (SOP). For us, it was difficult because most all of our birds over a year are molting. Our choices were to either take birds that were molting and hope everyone else's were also or take younger birds that hadn't quite filled in yet.

Alyssa chose to do both. Alyssa decided to take Clover, her recently acquired Bearded White Silkie from Kippen Paradys Silkies. Clover is still young, not fully filled out but she's already a beauty. She came from Paint breeding and has one tiny little black spot at the base of her crest in the back. We thought she might be too young to place but since the older hens were molting, Clover it was. Much to our surprise, the judge, Tom Roebuck, seemed to really like her. Clover was the star silkie of the day! She ended up bringing home- Reserve of Show, Reserve Bantam, Best Featherleg (class), Best in Breed, AND Best Variety as a white Silkie! We were thrilled with her results. She's definitely the newest princess on the block!

Since she's not only gorgeous but sweet as pie, Alyssa also used Clover for her showmanship bird. Alyssa was confident with Clover and is so famililar with the silkie breed, she managed to pull out a 2nd Place Win in the Intermediate Division of Showmanship!

Alyssa also took Rico, our handsome Bearded Calico/Porcelain Silkie Rooster. Rico won 1st place Silkie Rooster and even better, Best AOV (Any other Variety) of the Show which is the highest he's able to win since his color isn't recognized!

Alyssa's third bird was Red John, our BBR Phoenix rooster. Red John also brought home a ribbon, winning Best in Breed! The judge spent some time speaking to Alyssa and I both about him and even though Red John is in a current molt, he was quite pleased with his feathering and commending her on his tail length and quality.

Next up was Chance. We all knew who Chance was bringing to the show. Blue & Splash Bearded Silkies are his forte and his passion. The challenge for Chance was that his very best were either molting or broody. What to do? After careful consideration and some bathing and blow drying, Chance chose to pull three hens off of their nest.

Mama Sassy is his oldest and probably most spoiled bearded Blue Silkie hen. Her name is Sassy but she's earned the term Mama Sassy for her tenure and the amount of gorgeous chicks she's produced here for Chance. Mama Sassy didn't let us down, she brought home Best Variety of the Blue Silkies. Even coming off of a nest full of eggs she's been on for a couple of weeks now!

Although Blueberry was bred as a Blue bearded Silkie, has shown at the state shows as Blue, and from her offspring, we know she is genetically a Blue, the judge insisted she's a Black as far as showing. Her coop tags were changed from a Blue bearded Silkie to a Black bearded Silkie. That's okay! It's just another opportunity for a win for us in the Black variety and Miss Blueberry took full advantage of it, bringing home Best Variety for the Black Bearded Silkies AND Reserve of Breed overall of the Silkies, next in line to Clover!

Jade was the bearded Splash Silkie hen he chose to bring, as usual. Jade is one of Chance's favorite birds and she's just stunning. Even coming off of the nest for the day to attend the show, she showed like a true professional. Jade won Best Variety as well. Chance also used Jade for his Showmanship bird and they brought home FIRST place in the Intermediate Division in Showmanship!! He knows his birds, especially his Silkies!

What I loved about the three ladies above is, when Chance brought them home from a long day of being beautiful at the show, they drank a little, ate a little, and silkie swayed thier way back up into the nesting box, moving the other hens out of the way to hop back in the pile up on top of thier eggs! Those are some real hens!

Briana, of course, is our Partridge girl. She's been working on her Partridge now for some time, if you remember, she won Best Variety and Jr. Champion Featherleg last November at the State Show with her Partridge hen, Toffee. Her Partridge never let us down, thanks to the mentoring and blood lines she's obtained over the years from such greats as Sandy Thompson from Bat Cave Silkies.

Our Partridge are in TERRIBLE condition right now, however. Their pens look like they've been having pillow fights each night with the molting and feathers dropped, not to mention three just came off of the nest from hatching chicks. Briana really only had one choice to represent her Partridge at this particular show and it was to take Titmouse. A very young Partridge pullet she produced from Levi & Toffee. Titmouse is beautiful but young and not nearly as full as she's going to get. Again, with an "It is what it is!" attitude, we bathed and dried her and caged her up. We should have known that line can't hide it's beauty, even in a young pullet as Titmouse also came home with 1st place Pullet and Best Variety!

Briana chose her Bantam Salmon Faverolles for her second birds to bring. Again, with the more mature hens molting, she had to bring a young pullet and a rooster who was molting - but in better shape than his hens so Tiger and Cheetah came along. I'm not surprised that Cheetah beat Tiger, pulling out Best in Breed since Tiger was missing his sickle feathers! Cheetah also won Reserve Champion Featherleg, however! Tiger won Reserve in Breed also which isn't too shabby!

The girls' best friend, Hannah also did very well, winning Best American and Best in Breed with her Delaware and Best Continental AND Best in Breed with a White Leghorn we ended up bringing home with us for our Yokohama project. She also took 3rd place in Showmanship in the Intermediate division! All of the kids that showed did an amazing job, I was so proud of how far they've come, especially our APA-ABA Youth kids!

All in all, most importantly, it was a fun day! The weather was a little gloomy as it rained on and off and the wind picked up to drop the temperatures but when you have friends and farm animals- you know you have to enjoy yourself! I'm very proud of the accomplishments of the kids and the success of our farm but most excited that they've grown so much in the fancy the past couple of years. There were jokes made about Chance as he accepted his 1st place Showmanship trophy that he must know he'd won and I thought back to just four years ago when they were nervous and fidgety and couldn't answer half of the judge's questions and I smile! These wins haven't come easy and have been gained with a lot of hard work and dedication, they deserved them! Thanks for sharing in our success! Our next show is in November so be ready for some more (hopefully) awesome results!

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

I often get questions from readers about health related issues involving their flocks. It's so important to me to share our struggles as well as our triumphs in hopes it will help others as they work at raising their own birds and farming their homestead.

This season, I have had an overwhelming amount of questions about Coccidiosis, cocci as it's commonly called. I also spoke with our state veterinarian and several trusted breeder friends who agreed that this was the worst season in years of cocci outbreaks. There have been rampant strains, likely due to the wet winter and hot, humid summer. I wrote this blog post to provide a one-stop shop of information that breaks it down to the basics of what it is, how to do your best to avoid an outbreak, and treatment. It is likely that all chicken keepers, breeders, hobbyists who do this for long enough, will eventually deal with a bout of cocci. It's always best to be prepared.

Coccidiosis is a common but serious problem for all flock keepers, from small backyard hobbyists to large production hatcheries. All - let me repeat that - ALL chickens carry some cocci. Controlling the amount of oocysts they carry is the key to preventing outbreaks.

Coccidiosis is not a bacteria or virus, it is caused by a protozoa that can survive for months. It's a common protozoa in the genera Eimeria. There are two types of coccidiosis, cecal and intestinal. There are several strains and some are worse than others. Coccidiosis defies good sanitation practices unfortunately and thrives in warm, moist environments. There aren't any disinfectants effective at destroying oocysts. Only drought or freezing temperatures will eliminate them from the environment. Wet winters creates longer exposures as chickens huddle up and spend so much time in the coops and brood houses, creating more feces and foraging in them, thus creating more outbreaks.

The oocysts are ingested and absorbed into the gut lining causing damage to the intestinal tissue. They're very prolific parasites, producing 100s in a very short time with a life cycle of 4-7 days.
Most oocysts cause inflammation in the gut and diarrhea with or without blood. The parasite grows in the host and multiplies, usually in the lining of the gut, although certain species will grow in other organs. Oocysts are developed in the bird, passed via their feces and then in the right conditions will spread and infect the others. The population builds to dangerous levels over time. Once the coccidiosis has damaged the gut, secondary infections are common because it is easier for bacteria to colonize in damaged cells. Coccidiosis is species specific.

Overcrowding and high density, litter bedding, and damp, humid conditions, will allow a build-up of the parasite causing an overload. Lower levels may not affect healthy adults with a developed immunity but can cause problems in chicks and adults with poor body condition and growth.

Ideally, chicks will develop immunity to cocci as they're gradually exposed to it with age. 3-8 week old chicks are the must susceptible as well as those weakened by poor nutrition or disease. It's suggested that medicated feed is provided until they're 16 weeks old, especially in high level soils. The medicated feed does not kill the oocysts but helps in keeping the level of oocysts present maintained as the chicks develop natural immunity to it. Keeping dry, clean pens and avoiding overcrowding will help prevent an overload. It can be tricky, you want to allow chicks to develop immunity while not causing disease. This requires them to pick up just enough oocysts to stimulate their immune system while not picking up so much that it is overwhelmed and they become diseased.

Obviously, based on this, the best way to take care problems from Coccidiosis is to avoid overexposure, preventing an outbreak in the first place. While not all outbreaks can be avoided, there are steps you can take as a responsible flock owner to head most of them off. You know the old saying, "An ounce of Prevention..."

Prevention
Proper brooder/run and coop management is really the key to control. The goal in prevention is to reduce the number of oocysts in the environment. This keeps the infection at a minimum until immunity can be established.

Keep the litter dry and clean. Managing their brooder properly will help avoid the amount of oocysts eaten. Good sanitation and litter management can keep you ahead of the parasites. Be extra cautious with the areas around waterers. Chicks love to kick pine, poo, and food into the waterers. These areas will stay wet creating an area for the cocci to thrive. Clear the wet bedding around your waterers and replace it often.

Avoid overcrowding- again to prevent the ingestion of too many oocysts. A general rule of thumb is 1 square foot/chick, this provides them with sufficient space.

Provide adequate feeders and waterers and keep feeders full as well. Many times this is overlooked. 4 feeders and 4 waterers per 100 chicks is adequate if kept full and clean. If the feeders and waterers become empty and/or contaminated, this encourages the chicks to forage in their litter, again, ingesting more of the oocysts and creating an overload. Pay attention to clearing poo from the feeders and waterers. They are chickens, they are going to contaminate their feeders - like my little friend here clearly shows. This one was determined to always eat from inside our feeders. When he was in the brooder it was a constant battle to keep it clean but it has to be done.

Provide adequate ventilation to allow the excess ammonia and humidity to ecscape. A heat source with adequate insulation can prevent condensation build up. Ventilation is so important! Draft free but well ventilated should be your motto in housing.

Outside access can actually limit the build up of oocysts because it provides natural forage time and therefore they are less likely to forage around the brooder eating droppings. However, outside control of the buildup can be difficult in wet, humid conditions. Especially in the late Spring, Summer, and early Fall which can lead to outbreaks. Many breeders will begin by slowly adding small clumps of grass in their brooder for the chicks to forage in, peck at, and play on to begin developing thier immunity to their soil early. There's a fine line with this, you definitely want to provide them with gradual exposure but not overload.

The most common transfer to chicks is by human carrier. This means on your shoes, your hands, your clothing. When handling chicks under 8 weeks, care for them FIRST and/or change your clothing and wash your hands.

Never mix chicks of different ages and from different hatches. Biosecurity 101! Coccidiosis or not, this is a rule to live by.

If symptoms are seen, you have a very small window to treat successfully. Begin treatment immediately. This part relies on you, the flock owner, to be an experienced and keen observer. The key really is early detection. Monitor feed intake, decreased appetite may be the first sign in the early stages. If you are small scale, this may allow you to keep ahead of the parasites. The photo below is a fecal sample of a very advanced stage of cocci. If they all left these signs right away, we wouldn't worry but it's not this obvious early on when you want to catch it. Do not wait to see this before taking action. Know your flock and pay attention to them.

Which leads me to symptoms. Some clinical signs of coccidiosis are the following:
- droopiness & listlessness
-loss of appetite
-pale combs and wattles
-ruffled feathers
-huddling together or acting chilled
-blood and/or mucous in the feces (blood is not always present. Do not assume it is not cocci just because you do not see blood)
-diarrhea (sometimes seen in the form of "pasty butt")
-dehydration
-death if not treated early enough

It can be confused with necrotic enteritis but diagnosis outside of symptoms and clinical signs can be made inexpensively with a fecal sample with coccidiosis screening. Here in Virginia, the state vet will do a sample for you for only $10. If you're outside Virginia, call your State Veterinarian for pricing. Many general veterinary offices will also do a fecal test for you at minimal costs. I've heard from $8-10 in my area. The only other way to obtain diagnosis is through a necropsy. If you lose a chick before noticing, you can keep it's body cool in the refrigerator (not freezer) and contact your state vet for a necropsy. Here in Virginia, there is a state budget that allows most to be performed at no cost.

If you've had an outbreak, I strongly recommend that you take regular fecal samples to the state veterinary office or your vet to monitor and prevent future outbreaks. We try to monitor our birds with these quarterly. It also helps ensure the prevention and management of other internal parasites so for the small fee, it's a win-win. If you have access to a microscope, it's easy to perform your own testing. You only need to purchase a fecal sample solution. There's an interesting article here about making your own solution.

Treatment
Isolate!
Feed only scrambled egg with vitamins & probiotics mixed in. Try to avoid corn products as they increase the body temperature.
As their appetite increases, return to their chick feed with probiotics and vitamins mixed in.
You can make a smoothie for them consisting of chick feed, water, probiotic powder, and raw egg. Feed this through a syringe in little bits every few hours if they're not eating on their own.
Give 2.5 cc Amprolium 9.6% liquid (either Corid or Amprol)/ quart for 10 days. If using the gallon waterers, 2 tsp/gallon. Amprolium is an anti-coccidial drug that kills the cocci. There isn't any meat nor egg withdrawal and it is a time-tested treatment that has proved to be effective in intestinal and caecal cocci.
It's important to add the treatment to the water because thier feed intake suffers first.
Watch for hydration and make sure they stay hydrated.
Add 1/4 tsp of Vitamin E to their water or orally. Vitamin E has been show to shorten the course of the outbreak
Clean feeders and waterers with EVERY refill- yes- daily!
Change their bedding daily
No Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) during treatment. I know, I know, every forum and facebook group you visit will tell you to add ACV first thing. Do NOT! ACV will aggravate their stomach lining if they're sick and it also cancels out the benefits of the probiotics due to the PH level.
Treat the entire brooder/flock
Follow up this treatment with vitamins and probiotics in their water for one week.

**ALWAYS use Amprolium based medications PRIOR to using any Sulfa drugs. Sulfa can aggravate certain species of coccidiosis and make the condition worse. Some species of cocci can cause intestinal bleeding and the use of Sulfa will contribute to that bleeding before helping. I personally avoid Sulfa drugs in our flock but if you feel you MUST use it- I highly recommend doing so under the supervision of an avian veterinarian and AFTER trying the Amprolium based medication first. **

If your chicks have no symptoms, a general, a natural treatment for stronger immune systems in chicks are probiotics and vitamins. We use the Vita Pro B vitamin/probiotic mix offered by Peter Brown at First State Veterinary Supply.

A plan using the medications for preventing and building immunity to coccidiosis follows. I have not personally used this treatment although it was recommended by a veterinarian and another chicken expert so it does come from trusted sources. This must be started before the chicks are ten days old. Keep in mind that this disease kills chicks very quickly and will run through an entire brooder before you can begin treatment if you're not careful and observant of your flock.

Another option is to vaccinate your chicks for Coccidiosis. Doc Brown sells these vaccinations here. Vaccinating against coccidiosis does not guarantee you a cocci free flock as it can't vaccinate against all strains, however, it does offer protection against the major strains giving you much more protection than you have without it.

Don't be too hard on yourself! Do not judge others simply because they have had a coccidiosis outbreak. As I said in the beginning of this post, it is not always within the breeder's control. What is in our control is doing our very best to protect our flock and avoid outbreaks buy practicing proper prevention, biosecurity, and good farm management. Know your flock and carefully observe them so when an outbreak occurs, you can isolate and treat it.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

For Christmas and my birthday this year, Chuck surprised me with the last thing I expected him to purchase on his own, new chicken breeds! Not just new breeds but an entirely new class of chickens with much project potential! He talked to the breeders about coop and run requirements and ensured I was all set with those too. Spoiled? You betcha'! Please welcome our newest chickens, our new longtail breeders! The first of our new long tail breeds is the Red Shoulder Yokohamas.

My first thought when I saw Luke, Peace, and Hope was, "Striking!" They are truly glorious and make me feel as if I'm close to a wild eagle. They're an extremely attractive exhibition breed with long tails and saddle feathers.

Yokohamas are named for the port they were originally exported from in the late 1800s. As with all three of my new longtail breeds, they were developed from Japanese origins. It's thought that the Yokos of today were mostly created from the Japanese Minohiki ("Saddle Dragger" in Japanese) with a bit of Onagadori crossed in. Others have said that once the French missionary Girad exported the Minohiki to Europe, the German breeders created the Yokohama from crossing them with Malay, Phoenix, Sumatra, and other common game fowl. Either way, though they were created from game lines, the Yokos are kept primarily for ornamental purposes.

The Yokohamas were accepted into the American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection in 1981 in two varieties, the White and the Red Shoulder. We breed and raise the Red Shoulder variety. They are primarily white with substantial reddish brown highlights on their shoulders, wings, and breast. They have small, bright red walnut combs and earlobes with the same color small or non existent wattles. Their beak, shanks, and toes should be yellow and their eyes reddish bay to orangey red.

Generally alert but easy going and docile, Yokohamas are fairly slow to mature. To maintain the roosters' long and lush tail and saddle feathers, they're best kept in dry, well-bedded coops with high perches. These lovely fowl bear confinement well but are also well suited for free ranging situations. The roosters are known to be rooster aggressive so you'll want to limit your flock to one.

The hens are quiet, are known to go broody, and be excellent mothers. They lay small to medium tinted or white eggs. The frequency of their laying depends greatly on their diet. To keep the hens laying consistently and to encourage proper tail growth in the roosters, diets higher in animal and fish protein and fat.

We currently do not have any Yokohama chicks nor juveniles for sale but fertile hatching eggs can be purchased via our online store.

I'll be introducing you'll to our other two new longtail breeds very soon!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

There's been much debate lately on forums and facebook groups about purchasing new farm animals and adding to one's herds and flocks. Some call it "chicken math", if you have chickens or goats or rabbits, the general consensus is, eventually you WILL get more. The main question has been, where do you get more? There's been a lot of misleading information that local swaps are not managed well and only serve to provide ill animals. In our experience, this is certainly not the case.

I've never been shy about my resistance and disdain for hatcheries and large production farms. The treatment and quality of the animals is below any acceptance level for me. Some argue that certain breeders and auctions are no better. While this can be true, I've found that it's not the general rule. The quality of any swap, farm, auction, or breeder is only determined by the person or people that manage it. There has to be some common sense and care for the welfare of the animals in place. It seems from the posts I've read (while sitting on my hands) that it varies by area as well. Whereas in my area, the auctions are a huge "no-no", in other states it seems they're not. The auctions in my experience and those folks I trust, are a place to dump poor, unwanted animals and culls that have problems those selling there just want to pass off to the highest bidder. I'd rank auctions in my area as worse than the hatcheries I avoid.

Here in our area, I sell from our farm or at local club small farm swaps. They have local, caring breeders and small farmers like ourselves that get together to sell our products and small livestock. I've met many quality, like minded people that have become friends at these events. However, no matter where you purchase from, there's no guarantee that every single vendor or seller there is going to be that quality, caring farmer. You have to look out for yourself and your farm or backyard homestead yourself.

The only way to be safe is to do your research, take your time, look over the animals and how they're being cared for, and use proper bio security measures for your current herd or flock. Is it possible you could still get burned? Yes! Anytime you introduce new animals from other sources, there's that possibility but there are things you can do to reduce and almost eliminate those odds.

We're very blessed that here in Virginia, we have an amazing group, Pet Chickens of Virginia. PCOV is, for the most part, a caring group of fellow poultry raisers, farmers, breeders, backyard chicken hobbyist that like to discuss and help each other with raising poultry here in Virginia. The group also happens to host monthly farm swaps in the parking lots of Tractor Supply Company stores. There's a symbiotic relationship there, it allows small farmers and breeders to get their animals and produce out in a public place, and TSC sees an increase in their sales for the day as customers purchase feed and supplies from them because they're conveniently right there. The swaps are run by hosts and there are rules set in place for the welfare of the animals. The animals must be healthy and in good condition; they must have adequate food and water; and they must be provided with shade.

Now, there's always one in every group- just because I enjoy and have met amazing, like-minded people in this group, doesn't mean I just purchase from anyone at a swap or forget safety. I will say the swap hosts do their very best to keep things clean and safe but they're only one person and also there to work their tables and get things done. It takes all of us to keep an eye out and make sure things are run smoothly. Here are some ways to avoid problems purchasing new animals at swaps - or anywhere for that matter.

1. Use common sense! If you approach a vendor and the birds are crammed into cages that are too small, not given adequate food or water, stacked cage upon cage on top of each other, it's probably not a good idea to purchase from this person. Of course, we all have to put our birds in cages for the swaps for their own protection. We don't want them taking off across the parking lot and getting injured, but if the bird can't stand or move, it's a red flag for me. Then I would take notice of their other conditions- shade, water, feed. If you see animals that don't look like they have the necessities, consider mentioning it to the swap host before leaving. Many people think it doesn't make a difference, but trust me- it does! I know the 3-4 swaps we sell at have caring and concerned hosts and take the animals' welfare very serious.

This cage would work for Katniss for a swap, she could stand up and move around to eat and drink.

2. Look for signs of good or poor health. Anytime you purchase an animal- whether pet or livestock or both- you always want to look it over for health. Some things to look for are:

Clear, bright eyes with no discharge, bubbles or crust
Clean, shiny feathers that appear in good shape, no pecked out or worn away and dirty. Look around the eyes and vent area especially for signs of mites or lice
Clear, clean vent areas. I know you might not like checking out bums but a dirty bum can be a sign of stress or illness
Flat, clean feet. Chickens get dirty feet- it's a given but you want to look for any signs of bumblefoot, scaly leg mites, or injuries. With hoofed animals, check to see that their feet are well kept, not overgrown or peeling. You don't want to pick up an animal with hoof rot or poor feet
Clean nasal passages, no discharge, no dried crust on their nose, no sneezing, wheezing, or breathing with their mouth open, or labored breathing
Overall healthy appearance and movement. Are they walking around their cage and eating and drinking or are they puffed up in a corner, listless and not moving?
The last one can be tough if you arrive towards the end of the day when they've been out and are tired or resting but there's a generally ill appearance to some animals. Avoid them.

A male rabbit we "saved" once at a huge medical expense and the loss of one of our best show bucks.

3. Don't "save" them because you feel sorry for them. Okay- so harsh sounding, I know. TRUST ME. I've been there and done that and it's ended up in heartache 9 out of 10 times. It's great to rescue an animal if you can but if you already have an established flock or herd, you do NOT want to bring disease and illness back to your farm. The best thing you can do for them is to go to the swap host. Let them know your concerns and what they've seen. Trust me, a good swap host will follow up. I know, personally, at our local swap, the swap host will walk down to the reported vendor and check the animals out herself, sometimes she'll even quietly get a second opinion. If there is obvious signs of mistreatment or neglect, she won't hesitate to call animal control either. I personally watched this last month when our swap hosts explained to the person what was wrong with thier animals, told them we don't allow unhealthy animals to be sold, and then called animal control. AC did follow up and go out to the property and educate this person on proper care and husbandry. They advised us they were going to follow up and ensure proper treatment was given.

4. Consider purchasing from NPIP and AI clean vendors. It's not a guarantee of good health and it only certifies the vendor to be pullorum/typhoid free and Avian Influenza free, however, a breeder that goes the extra mile to have their farm certified, usually cares about the health of their flock. Notice, I say usually because, again, it's not a guarantee. It is a clue that they've gone a step above.

5. Do NOT touch every animal there! This not only protects you and your flock but also protects the vendors. I'm going to be honest, from a vendor's perspective, this is a nightmare! That may seem cruel and harsh but if, for example, your children pet some goats or chickens from one farm and then come to our table and pet or touch our animals, you've just brought microorganisms, bacteria, and maybe even illness to my animals. Even if the other vendor has safe, healthy animals, their soil and the immunity of their animals is completely different from mine and you can spread problems. Each farm is different, each yard is different, and therefore all flocks are different. There may be things that their animals have a natural immunity to that mine do not or vice versa. You also don't want to touch all of the other animals and bring anything home to your own herd and flocks. So, unless you're seriously considering buying them, and have permission from the seller, don't touch. Ensure you wash your hands afterwards or use hand sanitizer and change your shoes when you get home before walking into your own pasture or yard and caring for your animals. It's always a good idea to have set shoes to be worn just for caring for your animals anyway. That's a good bio security measure.
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6. Talk to the vendors. Ask them questions about their flocks and herds. What do they breed for, what purpose do their animals have (eggs, meat, showing, pets, etc) and do they match up with your own. What feed do they use, what are some of their farm practices. A good vendor will happily talk to you about their flock and how they raise them. They're happy to answer your questions and help you out to ensure their animals get a great home. Do they seem knowledgeable about caring for animals and their own flock or herd? Did they hatch their own or are they passing off hatchery birds? If you're like me, that's really important.

7. If and when you purchase, and you take your new lovelies home... QUARANTINE! I don't care if you buy from me or the top breeder in the country. You should ALWAYS quarantine. I recommend 30 days although I know others that do 2 weeks. It's so important and probably the safest thing you can do for your flock. These are animals and things happen. Even with my own that I do my very best for and love dearly. Wild animals and wild birds spread diseases even to the best kept flocks and it may be that the breeder honestly had no idea that some cocci was building up because of recent humid weather or rain storms or that a wild bird had left some illness in the pen the day before but they hadn't seen any illness yet. Things happen no matter how sanitary and strict you are unless your animals are never allowed outside. So, no matter who or where you purchase from, always, always, always quarantine. If you're unsure how to do this, there's a great article here and here.

Local swaps can be a much better alternative for finding quality, farm bred poultry and small livestock than going through hatcheries or big chain stores. I'm a huge buy local advocate and have met some knowledgeable and quality breeders and farmers through PCOV and the swaps we do with them. I look forward to the swaps each month during the season. Many of the vendors, like my kids and I, are very concerned and care deeply for our animals' well being and the health of the other animals. The swap hosts also care and want to have a safe, enjoyable place for us to socialize, shop, sell, and find great homes for our livestock.

Birds like Sugar, that are crosses and won't work for our breeding program,
can make great pets/layers for others. Sugar was sold to a very
nice home at one of our local swaps.

Yes, many of us buy and sell from each other. Over the years, I've had to purchase many of our rare breeds and exhibition silkie breeders from out of state but always from breeders, never hatcheries or auctions. I try to purchase local when I can and I appreciate being able to get our food, laying poultry, goats, and supplies locally. When I find good, local people, I am grateful for them. For that, some of my personal favorite locals are:

I purchase my coops, goat's milk, and chevre from a friend that I met through PCOV who attends many of the same swaps, their farm is Nina's Hideaway Farm. They also happen to be where three of our five goats also came from. My Myotonic goats came from yet another PCOV member, Brick Cottage Farm. I've bought my laying hens and some breeders from other members like Kluckadoodle Farm (show in the photos above) and the Farm Mama. Many of our Lionheads came from yet another PCOV member, Falling Creek Ranch & Farm. Chance has one particular vendor that he swears bakes the best cookies on the planet.

So, if you're in Virginia, and want to meet us at a local swap here are the dates we're definitely attending this season at the Fredericksburg TSC Swap. June 7July 12August 9 September 6October 4November (TBD)
The address to the TSC in Fredericksburg is
4179 PLANK RD
FREDERICKSBURG,VA 22407

There are also swaps located in Orange, Montpelier, and Culpeper that we randomly attend. We usually post on our Facebook page the week before if we're attending any of the others.

I hope this has helped clear up some of the misconceptions and gives you a good start to finding your next